The Scientist
by ChaosHasCome
Summary: Lane Jennings studies the Tesseract for SHIELD. It's a task she focuses on single-mindedly. When Fury recruits some help for her research, she isn't expecting Tony Stark to waltz back into her life and stir up an emotion Lane had worked so hard to stifle. Nor is she expecting to find a best friend and confidant in Dr. Bruce Banner.


**A/N: So yeah. New story. Couldn't get the idea out of my mind. Let me know what you think?**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognize.**

I tucked a wayward strand of blond hair behind my ear, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose absentmindedly. Countless equations and functions swam through my mind as I calculated various facts and figures, jotting them down on the pad of paper in front of me. A woman dressed in black tapped me on the shoulder but I waved her away. She left my lunch on the table beside me before exiting the room. I could smell chicken and rice but couldn't be bothered to eat. Work on the tesseract was of the utmost importance – a higher priority than food. Until Fury managed to gather a team to help me, I was the only one able to thoroughly research the other-worldly substance.

The food beside me grew steadily colder as I flew through formula after formula, calculating mass, density, weight, and various other facts about the tesseract. When the sky outside the Helicarrier was dark and the rest of the flying ship's inhabitants were asleep, I set down my pen and discarded the cold food in the trash receptacle, watching in satisfaction as the remains broke down and decomposed rapidly – a result of the machine I had invented and built earlier in the year. The decomposed remains could then be used as fertilizer for plants or be used to engineer more nutrient rich soil.

The hallway was steeped in darkness as I stepped out of the lab, locking it behind me. Staring into the dark, I was suddenly thankful I had the route memorized. Tracing the walls with a shaking hand, I though over every detail of my day, down to the number of times I brushed my hair this morning. I thought of the tesseract – the blue glow it emitted and the alien substance from which it was formed. Unlocking the door to my room, I wondered whom Fury had recruited to help me study the foreign energy source. When Loki had emerged from the portal and the SHIELD base began collapsing, I had been on the main level retrieving coffee for the members of the lab. All of them were now dead or captured – all but me. I should have perished with the others yet I lived. It puzzled me and infuriated me. So many brilliant minds lost to senseless destruction.

My train of thought continued to drift as I went through my nightly routine, yawning as I pulled the covers over my head to shut out the night.

I knew it was illogical to be afraid of the dark. There were no ghouls or gremlins, witches or werewolves, waiting to enchant me or strangle me. Nothing disturbed the peaceful silence of the night. And probability said nothing ever would.

Yet I huddled in a ball, eyes squeezed shut as my mind replayed the same scene over and over in my mind. Before I became trapped in my own memories, I crawled out of bed and desperately searched for the light switch. I watched as the light's soothing presence flooded the room, ushering out the darkness – taking my demons with it. Tucking the covers under my chin, I curled into a ball once more and closed my eyes.

Sleep was a long time coming.

%.%.%

The shower was cold. It should have been warm. I needed to contact the maintenance department and inform them that my shower was in need of repair. I towel dried my hair before clumsily plaiting it, my fingers better acquainted with typing than braiding. Still, it accomplished my desired goal – keeping my hair out of my face. I applied minimal make-up and quickly slid into the tight fitting black uniform SHIELD supplied all its employees. My white lab coat was waiting by the door on a peg and I relished in the familiarity it provided. As I adjusted my glasses and fished a granola bar from my discarded purse, I pondered the approaching day. According to Fury, I would meet my fellow scientists and we would begin further study of the tesseract's true power.

I walked briskly towards the lab – making quick work of the granola bar along the way – after locking the door behind me. I stopped in surprise as soft conversation floated down the hallway toward me, from the direction of the lab. It took only moments for me to deduce that the voices belong to the scientists Fury had hired to help me with my research. Anger sparked briefly before I promptly controlled and stifled it. My fellow peers had begun without me.

Striding forward, I pushed my glasses higher up my nose as they slid forward. Pushing the lab door open, I felt immediately satisfied when all conversation stopped and the two men turned toward me. The man on the left had dark skin and looked to be of Indian descent. He wore sleek glasses and his hair was askew. I recognized the man to the right as Tony Stark, a man whom I was entirely too familiar with.

"I presume Fury sent you?" They were silent and I raised an eyebrow. The dark man on the left nodded quickly, knocking his glasses awry. "Well gentlemen. I am Dr. Lane Jennings. This is my lab. You are merely visitors. There are two rules I expect to be followed. Lab coats must be worn at all times when inside the lab's premises. If you break any of my equipment, I will break _your _equipment. Get my drift?" The dark complexioned man nodded and looked nervous. Stark leaned over and whispered something, causing the other man to flush darkly. "Stark!" His gaze turned towards me lazily, his eyes drifting slowly up and down my figure. "I'm surprised you agreed to assist Fury – and by extension, me."

He smirked. "I couldn't refuse a chance to _assist _you, Laney. We both know how skilled I am at _assisting_ you. We've gotten on so _well _in the past."

I met his suggestive gaze evenly. "Stark. This is a professional establishment. The mistakes of my past will not be brought up in this manner again. Am I understood?"

Stark visibly winced. "A mistake? Is that what you call it? Funny. I thought it was called sex." He shrugged. "But whatever, I'll be professional." He looked away and it was my turn to wince, albeit internally. Publicly broadcasting my…_involvement_ with Stark was not the ideal way to meet a new co-worker.

Thankfully, the other man offered his hand, shaking mine with a nod of his head and a simple, "Dr. Bruce Banner." He had a firm grip and his hand was warm – warmer, perhaps, than was average for a human male. I smiled gratefully, flashing my teeth.

"Pleasure." Stark scowled and whispered something in Dr. Banner's ear, causing him to look away and elbow the older man. "I've compiled a folder for the two of you outlining previous research and our primary focus concerning the tesseract." I plucked a thick manila folder from a desk drawer and handed it to Dr. Banner. "Your first assignment is to read through that folder together and bring me a report tomorrow on any thoughts you may have concerning it. Dismissed." Turning around, I headed for the door. "Remember boys; don't break any of my equipment." Then I left to find Fury and ask him what the hell he was thinking recruiting Stark for such delicate research. I would ask him politely to fire Stark and present him with a logical argument as to why.

An argument that would have nothing to do with my previous rendezvous with Mr. Stark. And had nothing at all to do with the emotions swirling through my brain.

And it of course would have nothing to do with love.

**A/N: So what do you think of Lane? Should I continue with this? And I guess this is slightly AU if only because there is a character in the Avengers plot where here wasn't one before. Take of that what you will. Thoughts?**

**Jess**


End file.
